No. 582 Squadron RAF was a bomber

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squadron of the

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during the

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History

The squadron was formed with Avro Lancasters on 1 April 1944 at

RAF Little Staughton Royal Air Force Little Staughton or more simply RAF Little Staughton is a former Royal Air Force station located south of Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire and west of St Neots, Cambridgeshire, England. Station history The airfield was first ...

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, from 'C' Flight of 7 Squadron and 'C' Flight 156 Squadron. It was part of

No. 8 Group RAF No. 8 Group was a Royal Air Force group which existed during the final year of the First World War and during the Second World War. First World War No. 8 Group was formed in April 1918 as a training unit and designated 8 Group (Training). I ...

, also referred to as the

Pathfinder Force The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were norma ...

, and began operation nine days later with a night raid on

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on the 9/10 April 1944. The squadron's last operational raid against enemy forces was a raid on gun batteries on the island of

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on 25 April 1945. The squadron spent the remainder of the war dropping food to the Dutch, during Operation Manna, and repatriating prisoners of war in Operation Exodus. It was disbanded at RAF Little Staughton on 10 September 1945. The squadron had operated 2,157 sorties and lost 28 aircraft during the war.

Victoria Cross

During a raid on 23 February 1945, Captain Edwin Swales, a

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n, won a posthumous

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

over

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. In addition, a further posthumous VC was awarded to a pilot of a 582 Squadron aircraft. Sqn Ldr Robert "Bob" Palmer, a Mosquito pilot of 109 Squadron led a daylight attack on 23 December 1944, using

OBOE The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, on the Gremberg marshalling yards in Cologne with his regular navigator Flt Lt George Russell. They were flying on the Lancaster (PB371) of Flt Lt Owen Milne alongside other 582 Squadron aircrew. Of those on board the aircraft, only the rear gunner survived the attack.

Aircraft operated

Squadron bases

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

582 Squadron on RAF website

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 582 Squadron Raf Bomber squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

582 __NOTOC__ Year 582 ( DLXXXII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 582 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...